156 Po a ch e rs and Po a ch ing. 



pressive provincial names. To many northern 

 shepherds the noise indicates dry weather and 

 frost. The snipe is an early breeder, and in open 

 seasons its beautiful eggs maybe found by March 

 or early April. These are laid in a depression 

 among rushes or aquatic herbage, and have a 

 ground colour of greenish olive, blotched with 

 varying shades of brown. Incubation lasts only 

 a fortnight, and the result of this are young 

 which run as soon as they are hatched, and 

 clothed in an exquisite covering of dappled 

 down. The birds strongly object to any intru- 

 sion on their breeding haunts, though this 

 presents a capital opportunity of hearing the 

 peculiar sound already referred to. The male 

 will be seen flying high in circles, and whenever 

 he indulges the remarkable action of his wings 

 in his curving descent the sound proceeds from 

 him. Upon being hatched the young are imme- 

 diately led to water and the protection of thick 

 and dank herbage. Here, too, food is abundant, 

 which for these tiny things consists of the lowest 

 forms of aquatic life. It is interesting to watch 

 snipe boring for food, and it is surprising what 

 hard ground their admirably-adapted long mobile 

 bills can penetrate. This is an exceedingly sen- 

 sitive organ however, the outer membrane being 

 underlaid by delicate nerve fibre, which infallibly 

 tells the bird when it touches food, although far 

 hidden from sight. The seeds which are some- 



